Credit card fraud is on the rise. You need to protect yourself from identity theft. Both debit and credit cards offer solid protection to account holders. However, debit cards are linked to your checking or savings account. In the event of theft or fraud, credit cards provide an extra layer of defense because you have a better chance at getting your money back than if you paid with cash.

Fraudulent charges on a credit card can be reversed fairly quickly (usually 24 hours or less). However, it can take two weeks or more to restore funds to a debit card checking/savings account. And keep in mind, if your credit card information is lost or stolen, all major financial institutions and card issuers promise zero liability for fraudulent transactions. The same can not be said about protection for debit card purchases or ATM withdrawals. Under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, consumers aren’t responsible for more than $50 if a lost debit card or fraudulent charge is reported within two days (however, your liability increases with time).

To promote the security of the credit and debit card payment systems, the major card brands established the Payment Card Industry Council (PCI) to oversee its Data Security Standards (DSS). The PCI-DSS is the standard to which merchants and service providers must adhere for the complete protection of cardholder payment data. To protect cardholder data and mitigate financial exposure, it is imperative that all merchants validate and demonstrate PCI-DSS compliance.

HOW TO GET COMPLIANT

When it is time for you to validate your compliance, you will do so through your Processor. All Merchants are given an online Annual Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ). The process takes roughly 30 minutes. BCMS will help you every step of the way with our dedicated PCI Customer Support team.

By automatically maintaining the accuracy of customer account data, these products prevent disruptions due to account changes. They extend the life of online and offline automatic payment arrangements by helping to secure these ongoing, revenue-generating relationships, all while helping to lock in revenue, reducing processing costs, maintaining service continuity, and strengthening cardholder satisfaction.

Do you currently accept payments from other businesses or Government agencies? Are you a manufacturer or distributor? If so, your account should be established as a Level III Processing account, not as a retail merchant account. Nearly 100% of businesses are set up as “retail,” which results in 30 to 50% higher costs to process commercial and purchasing cards.

Why do retail merchants pay higher fees than B2B/B2G merchants to process the exact same credit card and transaction?

The average storefront retail merchant processes credit cards by swiping the card at the point-of-sale. This payment processing environment is referred to as card present or swiped. Swiping a credit card is considered a low risk transaction. Because the physical credit card is there, you can request ID and compare signatures if you choose (less risk).

When a retail merchant types in a credit card number (like a B2B/B2G, manufacturer or distributor typicallydoes), it’s processed as a keyed or card-not-present transaction. The cost to process keyed/card-not-present transactions goes up significantly. The cost to process credit cards increases along with the risk and/or costly programs associated with specific card types (rewards, detailed procurement reporting, etc.).

MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Discover all provide drastically lower interchange rates (for substantial savings) for merchants properly set up as B2B and processing Commercial Cards.

BCMS strives to go the extra mile to save you money. We want you to know what you’re getting at what cost and we look for ways to increase your bottom line. As a merchant, you need to know about the new $6 billion Visa/MasterCard settlement. The Federal Court has preliminarily approved a proposed $6+ billion settlement in a class action lawsuit, called In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 1720 (JG)(JO). The lawsuit is about claims that merchants paid excessive fees to accept Visa and MasterCard cards because Visa and MasterCard, individually, and together with their respective member banks, violated the antitrust laws.

The monetary portion of the settlement consists of two funds. The first is a cash fund in the amount of $6.05 billion that will pay valid claims of any person, business, or other entity that accepted Visa or MasterCard branded credit or debit cards in the U.S. between January 1, 2004 and November 28, 2012. The second fund is estimated to be up to approximately $1.2 billion in total and is equivalent to a portion of the interchange fees attributable to merchants that do not exclude themselves from the Rule 23(b) Settlement Class (“Cash Settlement Class”) and that accepted Visa and MasterCard credit cards during an eight-month period to begin by July 29, 2013. This fund will pay valid claims of members of the Cash Settlement Class that accepted Visa or MasterCard credit cards during the eight-month period.

The settlement will also require Visa and MasterCard to change some rules for merchants who accept their cards, including to allow merchants to do the following:

Charge customers an extra fee if they pay with Visa or MasterCard credit cards,

Offer discounts to customers who pay with payment forms less expensive than Visa or MasterCard credit or debit cards,

Accept Visa or MasterCards at fewer than all of the merchant’s trade names or banners, and

Form “buying groups” that meet certain criteria to negotiate with Visa and MasterCard

Interchange fees account for the majority of credit card processing expense, and a familiarity with interchange is vital knowledge for any business owner or manager. Interchange is the cost of the money transferred from the acquiring bank to the issuing bank for each bankcard transaction. These interchange fees are established by the card brands (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, JCB, Union Pay).

Interchange fees for the two largest card brands may change twice annually in April and October. The interchange fee schedules for Visa and MasterCard can be found here:

At BCMS, we guarantee the lowest processing rates in the industry, so you never have to worry if you’re paying too much for processing. We offer a cost-plus pricing structure which is the basic interchange rate plus a few basis points to cover our services. To lessen the impact of interchange fees, you may follow this guide:

A number of factors are used to determine where a transaction qualifies at interchange. Some of these factors can be controlled or influenced by the merchant while others can’t.

Factors that merchants can influence include:

Processing method: Card-present and card-not-present are the terms used to generally refer to the different ways of processing a credit card transaction. Card-present interchange categories carry smaller fees than card-not-present categories.

Card-Present: Card-present transactions are those where a merchant actually swipes a card through a terminal or by an imprinted and signed credit card draft.

Card-Not-Present: Card-not-present transactions (CNP, MO/TO, Mail Order / Telephone Order, MOTOEC) are made where the cardholder is not physically present with the card at the time that the payment is effected. This situation is most common for internet, mail-order, or fax transactions and is a major route for credit card fraud.

Transaction data: The information supplied with a credit card transaction impacts how it qualifies at interchange. Proper and complete transaction data is especially important for merchants that process card-not-present transactions and for those that deal with corporate and government enhanced data.

Testimonials

"I would like to extend a big thank you to BCMS! I want to let you know that by far you and your company have provided me with the best service I have ever received from a credit card company. You made my job so much easier and it allows us to provide a higher level of service to our customers!" - Kelli F.

About Us

BCMS is a leading provider of credit card and debit card payment processing services. We are proud to be the processor-of-choice for thousands of Merchants around the world.